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Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program

ABOUT MUHR

The Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program provides funding to eligible entities to report and identify missing persons and unidentified human remains across the United States. The program aims to enhance the reporting, transportation, forensic testing, and identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains, including migrants. The MUHR Program, administered for the first time in fiscal year 2022 by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, furthers the U.S. Department of Justice’s mission by increasing public safety by providing resources to locate and identify missing persons and unidentified human remains in the United States, and complements the National Institute of Justice National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Program.

 

To learn more about the MUHR Program and potential funding opportunities, please visit Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program.

Passed by Congress in 1999, Jennifer’s Law authorized the Attorney General to issue grants to state and local jurisdictions to increase their capacity to report missing and unidentified persons. Jennifer’s Law is named after Jennifer Marie Wilmer, a 21-year-old woman who went missing in California in 1993 and has not been found. Jennifer’s family, along with Congressional Representatives, enacted Jennifer’s Law to ease the suffering of families dealing with a missing loved one in the hopes that grant funding would allow more information about missing persons and unidentified human remains to be entered into databases. Under Jennifer’s Law, MUHR Program grantees are required to report unidentified human remains into databases such as NamUs, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP).

In the United States, over 600,000 individuals go missing every year, while more than 40,000 bodies recovered in the United States remain unidentified at any given time¹. In addition, an estimated 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year by ME/C offices, and approximately 1,000 of those recovered bodies remain unidentified after one year². Furthermore, there is a backlog of missing and unidentified human remains cases that are waiting to undergo forensic testing and be entered into national databases. Funding from the MUHR Program not only helps jurisdictions to become more self-reliant and self-sufficient in reducing their backlog, but also enables them to become more efficient in identifying and repatriating individuals to their loved ones.

 

[1] Between 2007 and 2020, an average of 664,776 missing persons records were entered annually into the National Crime Information Center. See https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ncic.

[2] In 2004, the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Census of Medical Examiner and Coroners’ Offices estimated that each year medical examiner and coroner offices handle about 4,400 unidentified bodies, with approximately 1,000 of those bodies remaining unidentified after one year. See https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/meco04.pdf.

Key Performance Metrics

Since its inception in 2022, MUHR Program funds were used to:

  • Make 24 identifications via Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) associations
  • Make 13 identifications via direct DNA comparisons
  • Make 21 identifications via other methodologies such as fingerprints
  • Repatriate 39 cases to relatives or next of kin

GRANTEES

This map is representative of all MUHR Program awards made since its inception in 2022.

If you are interested in viewing more award data, please visit the OJP Award Data webpage.

LIST OF GRANTEES

GRANTEE NAMESTATEFISCAL YEARPURPOSE AREA
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETYAZ20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
COUNTY OF COCONINOAZ20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
PINAL COUNTYAZ20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICECA20241 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO FOUNDATIONCA20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
CITY OF LOS ANGELESCA20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDECA20222 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
COUNTY OF BROWARDFL20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADEFL20222 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
COUNTY OF PALM BEACHFL20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENTFL20221 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDAFL20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
COUNTY OF DEKALBGA20222 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICEKY20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY MARYLANDMD20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
HENNEPIN COUNTYMN20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETYNC20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETYNJ20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICONM20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
COUNTY OF SUFFOLKNY20242 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINERNY20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
OKLAHOMA STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONSOK20241 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
CITY OF PHILADELPHIAPA20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
TARRANT COUNTYTX20232 (COUNTIES AND/OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITYTX20221 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT FORT WORTHTX2022 & 20243 (SERVICES TO ASSIST SMALL, RURAL, AND/OR TRIBAL ENTITIES)
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHVA20231 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEWI20241 (STATEWIDE AGENCIES)

RESOURCES

Publications

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A Guide to Resources for Unidentified Human Remains Investigations

Every year, thousands of unidentified human remains (UHRs) are found across the United States, which poses a challenge for the law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners tasked with identifying these individuals and resolving the cases. UHR investigations are complex and require specialized skills and resources, such as forensic anthropology, DNA analysis...

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Forensic Pathology

This document specifies the core competencies and other standards of quality and education for accredited forensic pathology graduate medical education programs...

Forensic Genetic Genealogy Laboratory Considerations and Technology Limitations

The application of forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) has technological limitations and will not resolve every case. By taking the time to thoroughly evaluate cases and associated evidence with both local crime laboratory representatives and FGG vendor laboratory representatives, law enforcement investigators can greatly increase the chances of attaining successful case...

Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices, 2018

This report provides data on the personnel, budget, workload, and policies of medical examiner and coroner offices in the United States. The report details the number and type of personnel employed, staff certification, and training. It includes the number of cases referred to and accepted by medical examiner and coroner...

Report to Congress: Needs Assessment of Forensic Laboratories and Medical Examiner/Coroner Offices

This report, which was mandated by The Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016, details the results of a national needs assessment of forensic science service providers conducted in 2017 and 2018. The needs assessment focused on services provided by forensic laboratories, medical examiner and coroner offices, and other forensic...

Investigating Violent Crime: The Prosecutor’s Role – Lessons Learned From the Field

Based on the discussions of seasoned prosecutors of violent crime who met in 2017 to examine how to improve the investigation of violent crimes, this paper reviews the various phases of an investigation and provides an overview of issues discussed, along with representative descriptions of the approaches used and challenges...

Strengthening the Medicolegal-Death-Investigation System: Improving Data Systems

In this report, the National Science and Technology Council's Fast-Track Action Committee on Strengthening the Medicolegal-Death-Investigation System (FTAC-SMDIS) presents recommendations for appropriate federal departments and agencies on how to address issues related to accessing and working with data produced by medical examiners and coroners (ME/C)...

Multi-Media

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Forensics TTA Calendar of National Events

The Forensics TTA calendar of events provides a centralized view of national conferences, trainings, and other events of interest to BJA Forensics Program grantees. This calendar is a downloadable resource designed to assist grantees with effective planning of event attendance when supported by BJA Forensics Program funding. Event entries are...

University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) Resources Webinar

This webinar focuses on the resources offered for missing and unidentified persons cases through the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI). Presented by UNTHCHI team members Mark Pooley, Dixie Peters, and Robert Moore, this webinar includes guidance on submitting samples for DNA analysis, utilizing Forensic Genetic Genealogy...

FY2024 Grantee Orientation Webinar – Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program

This webinar features the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) introducing the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program grantees to the overall BJA team that works collectively to administer their award funds including the BJA Policy Office and BJA Programs Office. This webinar provides useful training and information on how to accept...

Texas State University’s Operation Identification: Numbers to Names

This webinar offers an in-depth look at Texas State University's (TSU’s) Operation Identification (OpID) project and its mission to investigate, identify, and repatriate unidentified human remains (UHRs) discovered near the South Texas border. During this webinar, the presenter explores how OpID addresses gaps in medicolegal death investigations, manages UHRs, and...

U.S. Border Patrol Foreign Operations Division Missing Migrant Program

This webinar highlights the Missing Migrant Program, exploring how the U.S. Border Patrol strives to prevent migrant disappearances and deaths, assists with locating missing persons and identifying human remains, and collaborates with various agencies and organizations to support investigators and provide answers to families of the missing...

FY2024 Solicitation Webinar – Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program

The purpose of this 60-minute webinar is to provide details and guidance for potential applicants to the Fiscal Year 2024 Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) MUHR Program solicitation. The MUHR Program furthers the Justice Department’s mission of increasing public safety by providing resources to locate and identify missing persons and...

Overview of Migrant Casework and Challenges​ at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner

This webinar featured a brief background on the history of the United States - Mexico border, the creation of migrant policies and enforcement, the increase of migrants deaths and the challenges associated with identification, the importance of partnerships and available resources, and actual case studies from one of America’s busiest...

FY2023 Grantee Orientation Webinar – Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program

This webinar features the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) providing an overview of the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program to its FY2023 grantees. During the webinar, BJA highlights key personnel, updates to the program for FY2023, specifics on program performance measures, and relevant grant requirements. Additionally, grantees are...

Protocols

United States Department of Justice Interim Policy Forensic Genetic Genealogical DNA Analysis and Searching

The purpose of this interim policy is to promote the reasoned exercise of investigative, scientific, and prosecutorial discretion in cases that involve forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis and searching (FGGS)...

Research

Research coming soon.

HIGHLIGHTS AND EVENTS

BJA Forensics Programs FY24 Grantees

Congratulations and welcome to all BJA Forensics Programs FY24 grantees!...

Missing and Unidentified Humans Remains Program Funding Supports the Identification of a 1983 Jane Doe After a 41-Year Investigation

On August 15, 1983, the body of an adult female was found near a canal access road in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix, Arizona. All initial attempts to identify the Jane Doe via fingerprints, dental records, and DNA testing failed, resulting in the identity of this Jane Doe being unknown...

Remains identified in decades-old Oklahoma cold case

On May 5, 1983, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigate the suspicious disappearance of 19-year-old Melody Ann Jones who was a member of The Muscogee (Creek) Nation. That morning, Melody Ann Jones did not show up to work and a family member went...

BJA Forensics Programs FY23 Grantees

Congratulations and welcome to all BJA Forensics Programs FY23 grantees!...

Texas State University’s Operation Identification uses MUHR funding to assist rural jurisdictions with unidentified human remains cases

Operation Identification (OpID) within the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University started ten years ago with the aim of locating, exhuming, and working towards identification for long-term unidentified human remains (UHRs) in South Texas. These UHRs represent border crossing deaths that had no DNA samples in CODIS, and little...

DeKalb DA announces break in 30-year-old homicide case, Rebecca Burke identified

The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office has been awarded a three-year Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program grant in the amount of $500,000 to identify the remains of 27 individuals found in DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Cold Case Task Force will use these funds to catalog, report, test...

Upcoming Events

3rd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting

On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Forensics Training and Technical Assistance (Forensics TTA) Team, led by RTI International, is hosting the 3rd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting on June 9-10, 2025!  This year’s virtual meeting will offer a series of educational case studies and sessions...
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Past Events

2nd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting

On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Forensics Training and Technical Assistance (Forensics TTA) Team, led by RTI International, is hosting the 2nd Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting, on June 10-11, 2024!...

1st Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting

On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Forensics Training and Technical Assistance (Forensics TTA) Team, led by RTI International, is hosting the 1st Annual BJA Forensics Programs Grantees Meeting, scheduled for October 2-3, 2023!...
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FORENSICS TTA PROGRAM updates

The Forensics TTA Team wants to hear from you!

If BJA Forensics Programs funding has played a role in your organization’s success, no matter how small or how large, we would love to hear about it! Please share your achievements with the Forensics TTA Team by clicking the ‘Submit Highlight’ button.